A mutant, Gambit can mentally create, control and manipulate pure kinetic energy to his every whim. He is also knowledgeable and skilled in card-throwing, hand-to-hand combat, and the use of a bō.
Chapter 4: The Self and Interaction Ascribed Status - an inborn status; usually difficult or impossible to change. (P. 116)
Gambit embodies an ascribed status, he was abandoned at birth because he was born with "burning red eyes", he was cast out away from humanity and named "le diable blanc" meaning The White Devil. As a baby he was stolen from the hospital where he was born by a thieves' guild, where he was trained to be a thief. Growing up in that environment, and having the ability that he did, he was more or less destined for, while not necessarily good things, definitely great. Gambit was excommunicated from the guild for accidentally killing another member in a duel, after that he traveled the world honing his ability and taking playing cards charged with his kinetic energy as his signature weapon. While Gambit is not an evil hero, he definitely toes the line at times.
Gambit's theme
Chapter 6: Deviance Differential Association Theory - Edwin Sutherland's hypothesis that we learn to be deviant through our associations with deviant peers. (P. 158)
Gambit was adopted and raised by Jean-Luc LeBeau, the patriarch of the Thieves' Guild. He was raised with thieves, trained by thieves, and lived with thieves, it was the only thing he knew. His entire life, was built around these less than savory activities. Gambits own abilities reflect this, he uses his power to kinetically charge his playing cards. Gambit was considered a master thief, after he was excommunicated from the guild he traveled the world using the abilities he had learned while he was still in the guild. Gambit's story shows, time and time again, that while he is not an evil person, he was raised as a thief. It is a recurring theme within his story for certain things that a normal person might consider wrong, e.g., stealing, and cheating; he doesn't consider them wrong, he even attempted to steal the source of the Juggernauts power, before being caught by the X-men and eventually joining their team.
Chapter 8: Race and Ethnicity as Lived Experience Embodied Identity - Those elements of identity that are generated through others' perceptions of our physical traits. (P. 226)
Gambit is repeatedly targeted throughout his story-line because of the unique nature of his power. From when he was adopted by the patriarch of the thieves guild, to being tricked into working for a super villain named "Mr. Sinister" (though, honestly the name should have been a bit of a tip off that he wasn't exactly a good person, but see my previous entry as to why he may have agreed anyway). He even had his mind taken over by another super villain named "Apocalypse" and was forced to attack his love interest, Rogue, as well as the rest of the X-men. Throughout his story, he is time and time again, tricked into or forced into a situation because of his abilities. This helps to define Gambit as to what he really is, he isn't exactly a cut and dry super hero like, Super Man for instance, he is more of a rogue hero which oftentimes finds himself forced into difficult situations because of others that want to do a variety of evil things through his abilities. So he begins to take on this very different persona than the one he more likely than not would have taken on.
Chapter 10: The Macro-Micro Link in Social Institutions: Politics, Education, and Religion. Social Institutions -Systems and structures within society that shape the activities of groups and individuals. (P. 281)
When Gambit was abandoned at birth due to his eyes, he was taken in by the Thieves Guild, a social Institution of sort. While he was a member of the Thieves Guild, he was raised within a very different social structure, one that taught him to be a thief. When he was later banished from the Thieves Guild, he wound up in another, different, albeit similar Social Institution. He was taken in by an Evil Scientist named Mr. Sinister, whom he was indebted to due to the fact that he had performed a surgery on Gambit that allowed him greater control of his abilities. Mr. Sinister then forced him to create a group called "The Marauders", which Mr. Sinister then used, without Gambit's knowledge, to attack a mutant community known as "Morlocks". Gambit then broke off his deal with Mr. Sinister, and once again, he was on his own, traveling through the world. He eventually met Storm, from the X-Men, and subsequently became a member of another, although this time a good one, Social Institution. Gambit throughout his story is in and out of very different groups and institutions with vastly differing ideologies in each and every single one of them. This is a large part of the reason that Gambit is so difficult to categorize as a "Good or Evil" character, because he is on both sides of the fence fairly consistently throughout his story.
Chapter 6: Deviance Deviance – a behavior, trait, belief, or other characteristic that violates a norm and causes a negative reaction. (P. 153)
Gambit is deviance. From the very beginning when he was cast out from his family, due to his mutant capabilities. To be taken in by the thieves’ guild, to once again be cast out, due to an incident where he killed another member in a duel, something that could only be labeled as deviant. From there, Gambit doesn't attempt to truly blend back into society, which is of course deviant behavior, but the group to which he is in fact the most deviant, would be the other super heroes. He repeatedly associates himself with “good” heroes, only to be cast out, or exiled from them, due to the fact that he has quite a checkered past. It’s difficult to call Gambit a “good” hero, simply because when he is compared to other heroes, very little of what he does, is “good”. He is one of the first “Anti-Heroes”, to be a hero that isn't evil, but one that begins to blur the lines of what good and evil really are. He doesn't take part in trying actively to fight the evil-heroes, in fact there is more than one occasion where he could very easily be considered an evil hero. From his involvement in the near genocide of a mutant community, to when he joined forces with a “by-the-books” evil hero, who he believed would help the overall mutant community, but in the end he wound up attacking the X-Men, which he was a member of. From any angle which you look at him, there is never a moment where he is truly one side or the other, but from every angle he is deviance. From the non-mutant perspective, he is in every way deviant, from the “good” side of the mutants, he is deviant, from the “evil” side, he is deviant, in every way that Gambit could be deviant from society he is. Which is why he is such a good character, his story is never going to be, “fight the evil people, struggle, eventually win, everyone is happy, end of the story.” He will always do something different from your classic heroes, like Superman, and Batman, who in the end will always be good, and will always win. Gambit may very well end up fighting for the “evil team”.
Chapter 4: The Self and Interaction
Ascribed Status - an inborn status; usually difficult or impossible to change. (P. 116)
Gambit embodies an ascribed status, he was abandoned at birth because he was born with "burning red eyes", he was cast out away from humanity and named "le diable blanc" meaning The White Devil. As a baby he was stolen from the hospital where he was born by a thieves' guild, where he was trained to be a thief. Growing up in that environment, and having the ability that he did, he was more or less destined for, while not necessarily good things, definitely great. Gambit was excommunicated from the guild for accidentally killing another member in a duel, after that he traveled the world honing his ability and taking playing cards charged with his kinetic energy as his signature weapon. While Gambit is not an evil hero, he definitely toes the line at times.
Gambit's theme
Chapter 6: Deviance
Differential Association Theory - Edwin Sutherland's hypothesis that we learn to be deviant through our associations with deviant peers. (P. 158)
Gambit was adopted and raised by Jean-Luc LeBeau, the patriarch of the Thieves' Guild. He was raised with thieves, trained by thieves, and lived with thieves, it was the only thing he knew. His entire life, was built around these less than savory activities. Gambits own abilities reflect this, he uses his power to kinetically charge his playing cards. Gambit was considered a master thief, after he was excommunicated from the guild he traveled the world using the abilities he had learned while he was still in the guild. Gambit's story shows, time and time again, that while he is not an evil person, he was raised as a thief. It is a recurring theme within his story for certain things that a normal person might consider wrong, e.g., stealing, and cheating; he doesn't consider them wrong, he even attempted to steal the source of the Juggernauts power, before being caught by the X-men and eventually joining their team.
Chapter 8: Race and Ethnicity as Lived ExperienceEmbodied Identity - Those elements of identity that are generated through others' perceptions of our physical traits. (P. 226)
Gambit is repeatedly targeted throughout his story-line because of the unique nature of his power. From when he was adopted by the patriarch of the thieves guild, to being tricked into working for a super villain named "Mr. Sinister" (though, honestly the name should have been a bit of a tip off that he wasn't exactly a good person, but see my previous entry as to why he may have agreed anyway). He even had his mind taken over by another super villain named "Apocalypse" and was forced to attack his love interest, Rogue, as well as the rest of the X-men. Throughout his story, he is time and time again, tricked into or forced into a situation because of his abilities. This helps to define Gambit as to what he really is, he isn't exactly a cut and dry super hero like, Super Man for instance, he is more of a rogue hero which oftentimes finds himself forced into difficult situations because of others that want to do a variety of evil things through his abilities. So he begins to take on this very different persona than the one he more likely than not would have taken on.
Chapter 10: The Macro-Micro Link in Social Institutions: Politics, Education, and Religion.
Social Institutions -Systems and structures within society that shape the activities of groups and individuals. (P. 281)
When Gambit was abandoned at birth due to his eyes, he was taken in by the Thieves Guild, a social Institution of sort. While he was a member of the Thieves Guild, he was raised within a very different social structure, one that taught him to be a thief. When he was later banished from the Thieves Guild, he wound up in another, different, albeit similar Social Institution. He was taken in by an Evil Scientist named Mr. Sinister, whom he was indebted to due to the fact that he had performed a surgery on Gambit that allowed him greater control of his abilities. Mr. Sinister then forced him to create a group called "The Marauders", which Mr. Sinister then used, without Gambit's knowledge, to attack a mutant community known as "Morlocks". Gambit then broke off his deal with Mr. Sinister, and once again, he was on his own, traveling through the world. He eventually met Storm, from the X-Men, and subsequently became a member of another, although this time a good one, Social Institution. Gambit throughout his story is in and out of very different groups and institutions with vastly differing ideologies in each and every single one of them. This is a large part of the reason that Gambit is so difficult to categorize as a "Good or Evil" character, because he is on both sides of the fence fairly consistently throughout his story.
Chapter 6: Deviance
Deviance – a behavior, trait, belief, or other characteristic that violates a norm and causes a negative reaction. (P. 153)
Gambit is deviance. From the very beginning when he was cast out from his family, due to his mutant capabilities. To be taken in by the thieves’ guild, to once again be cast out, due to an incident where he killed another member in a duel, something that could only be labeled as deviant. From there, Gambit doesn't attempt to truly blend back into society, which is of course deviant behavior, but the group to which he is in fact the most deviant, would be the other super heroes. He repeatedly associates himself with “good” heroes, only to be cast out, or exiled from them, due to the fact that he has quite a checkered past. It’s difficult to call Gambit a “good” hero, simply because when he is compared to other heroes, very little of what he does, is “good”. He is one of the first “Anti-Heroes”, to be a hero that isn't evil, but one that begins to blur the lines of what good and evil really are. He doesn't take part in trying actively to fight the evil-heroes, in fact there is more than one occasion where he could very easily be considered an evil hero. From his involvement in the near genocide of a mutant community, to when he joined forces with a “by-the-books” evil hero, who he believed would help the overall mutant community, but in the end he wound up attacking the X-Men, which he was a member of. From any angle which you look at him, there is never a moment where he is truly one side or the other, but from every angle he is deviance. From the non-mutant perspective, he is in every way deviant, from the “good” side of the mutants, he is deviant, from the “evil” side, he is deviant, in every way that Gambit could be deviant from society he is. Which is why he is such a good character, his story is never going to be, “fight the evil people, struggle, eventually win, everyone is happy, end of the story.” He will always do something different from your classic heroes, like Superman, and Batman, who in the end will always be good, and will always win. Gambit may very well end up fighting for the “evil team”.
Further Reading-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambit_(comics)
http://marvel.com/universe/Gambit
By Zach P.